The Child Support (Maintenance Assessment Procedure) Regulations 1992

Regulation 4

SCHEDULE 2 MULTIPLE APPLICATIONS

No maintenance assessment in force: more than one application for a maintenance assessment by the same person under section 4 or 6 or under sections 4 and 6 of the Act

1.—(1) Where a person makes an effective application for a maintenance assessment under section 4 or 6 of the Act and, before that assessment is made, makes a subsequent effective application under that section with respect to the same absent parent or person with care, as the case may be, those applications shall be treated as a single application.

(2) Where a parent with care makes an effective application for a maintenance assessment—

(a) under section 4 of the Act; or

(b) under section 6 of the Act,

and, before that assessment is made, makes a subsequent effective application—

(c) in a case falling within paragraph (a), under section 6 of the Act; or

(d) in a case falling within paragraph (b), under section 4 of the Act,

with respect to the same absent parent, those applications shall, if the parent with care does not cease to fall within section 6(1) of the Act, be treated as a single application under section 6 of the Act, and shall otherwise be treated as a single application under section 4 of the Act.

No maintenance assessment in force: more than one application by a child under section 7 of the Act

2.  Where a child makes an effective application for a maintenance assessment under section 7 of the Act and, before that assessment is made, makes a subsequent effective application under that section with respect to the same person with care and absent parent, both applications shall be treated as a single application for a maintenance assessment.

No maintenance assessment in force: applications by different persons for a maintenance assessment

3.—(1) Where the Secretary of State receives more than one effective application for a maintenance assessment with respect to the same person with care and absent parent, he shall refer each such application to a child support officer and, if no maintenance assessment has been made in relation to any of the applications, the child support officer shall determine which application he shall proceed with in accordance with sub-paragraphs (2) to (11).

(2) Where there is an application by a person with care under section 4 or 6 of the Act and an application by an absent parent under section 4 of the Act, the child support officer shall proceed with the application of the person with care.

(3) Where there is an application for a maintenance assessment by a qualifying child under section 7 of the Act and a subsequent application is made with respect to that child by a person who is, with respect to that child, a person with care or an absent parent, the child support officer shall proceed with the application of that person with care or absent parent, as the case may be.

(4) Where, in a case falling within sub-paragraph (3), there is more than one subsequent application, the child support officer shall apply the provisions of sub-paragraph (2), (8), (9) or (11), as is appropriate in the circumstances of the case, to determine which application he shall proceed with.

(5) Where there is an application for a maintenance assessment by more than one qualifying child under section 7 of the Act in relation to the same person with care and absent parent, the child support officer shall proceed with the application of the elder or, as the case may be, eldest of the qualifying children.

(6) Where a case is to be treated as a special case for the purposes of the Act under regulation 19 of the Maintenance Assessments and Special Cases Regulations (both parents are absent) and an effective application is received from each absent parent, the child support officer shall proceed with both applications, treating them as a single application for a maintenance assessment.

(7) Where, under the provisions of regulation 20 of the Maintenance Assessments and Special Cases Regulations (persons treated as absent parents), two persons are to be treated as absent parents and an effective application is received from each such person, the child support officer shall proceed with both applications, treating them as a single application for a maintenance assessment.

(8) Where there is an application under section 6 of the Act by a parent with care and an application under section 4 of the Act by another person with care who has parental responsibility for (or, in Scotland, parental rights over) the qualifying child or qualifying children with respect to whom the application under section 6 of the Act was made, the child support officer shall proceed with the application under section 6 of the Act by the parent with care.

(9) Where—

(a) more than one person with care makes an application for a maintenance assessment under section 4 of the Act in respect of the same qualifying child or qualifying children (whether or not any of those applications is also in respect of other qualifying children);

(b) each such person has parental responsibility for (or, in Scotland, parental rights over) that child or children; and

(c) under the provisions of regulation 20 of the Maintenance Assessments and Special Cases Regulations one of those persons is to be treated as an absent parent,

the child support officer shall proceed with the application of the person who does not fall to be treated as an absent parent under the provisions of regulation 20 of those Regulations.

(10) Where, in a case falling within sub-paragraph (9), there is more than one person who does not fall to be treated as an absent parent under the provisions of regulation 20 of those Regulations, the child support officer shall apply the provisions of paragraph (11) to determine which application he shall proceed with.

(11) Where—

(a) more than one person with care makes an application for a maintenance assessment under section 4 of the Act in respect of the same qualifying child or qualifying children (whether or not any of those applications is also in respect of other qualifying children); and

(b) either—

(i) none of those persons has parental responsibility for (or, in Scotland, parental rights over) that child or children; or

(ii) the case falls within sub-paragraph (9)(b)

• but the child support officer has not been able to determine which application he is to proceed with under the provisions of sub-paragraph (9),

the child support officer shall proceed with the application of the principal provider of day to day care, as determined in accordance with sub-paragraph (12).

(12) Where—

(a) the applications are in respect of one qualifying child, the application of that person with care with whom the child spends the greater or, as the case may be, the greatest proportion of his time;

(b) the applications are in respect of more than one qualifying child, the application of that person with care with whom the children spend the greater or, as the case may be, the greatest proportion of their time, taking account of the time each qualifying child spends with each of the persons with care in question;

(c) the child support officer cannot determine which application he is to proceed with under paragraph (a) or (b), and child benefit is paid in respect of the qualifying child or qualifying children to one but not any other of the applicants, the application of the applicant to whom child benefit is paid;

(d) the child support officer cannot determine which application he is to proceed with under paragraph (a), (b) or (c), the application of that applicant who in the opinion of the child support officer is the principal provider of day to day care for the child or children in question.

(13) Subject to sub-paragraph (14), where, in any case falling within sub-paragraphs (2) to (11), the applications are not in respect of identical qualifying children, the application that the child support officer is to proceed with as determined by those paragraphs shall be treated as an application with respect to all of the qualifying children with respect to whom the applications were made.

(14) Where the child support officer is satisfied that the same person with care does not provide the principal day to day care for all of the qualifying children with respect to whom an assessment would but for the provisions of this paragraph be made under sub-paragraph (13), he shall make separate assessments in relation to each person with care providing such principal day to day care.

Maintenance assessment in force: subsequent application for a maintenance assessment with respect to the same persons

4.  Where a maintenance assessment is in force and a subsequent application is made under the same section of the Act for an assessment with respect to the same person with care, absent parent, and qualifying child or qualifying children as those with respect to whom the assessment in force has been made, that application shall not be proceeded with unless the Secretary of State treats that application as an application for a review under section 17 of the Act.

Maintenance assessment in force: subsequent application for a maintenance assessment under section 6 of the Act

5.  Where a maintenance assessment is in force following an application under section 4 or 7 of the Act and the person with care makes an application under section 6 of the Act, any maintenance assessment made in response to that application shall replace the assessment currently in force.

Maintenance assessment in force: subsequent application for a maintenance assessment in respect of additional children

6.—(1) Where a maintenance assessment made in response to an application by an absent parent under section 4 of the Act is in force and that assessment is not in respect of all of his children who are in the care of the person with care with respect to whom that assessment has been made, an assessment made in response to an application by that person with care under section 4 of the Act with respect to—

(a) the children in respect of whom the assessment currently in force was made; and

(b) the additional child or, as the case may be, one or more of the additional children in that person’s care who are children of that absent parent,

shall replace the assessment currently in force.

(2) Where—

(a) a maintenance assessment made in response to an application by an absent parent or a person with care under section 4 of the Act is in force;

(b) that assessment is not in respect of all of the children of the absent parent who are in the care of the person with respect to whom that assessment has been made; and

(c) the absent parent makes a subsequent application in respect of an additional qualifying child or additional qualifying children of his in the care of the same person,

that application shall be treated as an application for a maintenance assessment in respect of all of the qualifying children concerned, and the assessment made shall replace the assessment currently in force.

(3) Where a maintenance assessment made in response to an application by a child under section 7 of the Act is in force and the person with care of that child makes an application for a maintenance assessment under section 4 of the Act in respect of that child and all other children of the absent parent who are in her care, that assessment shall replace the assessment currently in force.